Retort.



H. W. WEBSTER.

BETORT.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 2 1912.

- Patented Jan. 20,1914.

mun/ r01? ATTORNEY WITNESSES HAROLD W. WEBSTER, OF BILLERICAY, ENGLAND. V

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan; 2o, rem.

Application filed September '20, 1912. Serial No. 721,346.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD W. VVnBsrnR,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Billericay, in the county of Essex, England, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Retorts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to retorts, particularly such as are used in smelting zinc ore and the like.

The object of my invention is to increase the life of the retorts and more particularly to prevent the destruction of a good retort through the failure of a retort above it. These retorts are of tubular form and, as is well known in the art, are commonly arranged in the furnaces in rows horizontally side by side and also in vertical rows to form tiers from two to six deep. The retorts are composed of clayey refractory material well adapted to withstand the intense heat, but the chemical reactions going on within the retorts eventually destroy them. The life of a retort is approximately from twenty to forty days, depending upon the character of the charges which it receives. As the length of life of a retort is so uncertain, the only practical way is to continue the use of a retort until it fails. Usually the failure of a retort is brought about by molten slag or other corrosive material eating its way through the bottom of the retort. However, when this takes place, the corrosive material from a retort above will trickle down on the top of a retort below and, as these retorts have heretofore commonly been constructed, will quickly puncture the top of and destroy the lower retort, which may be a perfectly good retort.

A more particular object of my invention is to so construct the retorts thatthey will not be materially injured by the corrosive material dropping upon them. I attain this object by providing a sharp ridge longitudinally along the top of the retort at the outside and also by providing a smooth and unbroken interior surface at the top of the retort, which results in increasing the thickness of the top of the retort along the ridge. This shape not only provides more material to resist destructive action at this point, but the corrosive molten matter descending from above is quickly diverted to the sides, having much less time in which to act and no substantially fiat surface upon which to rest. As heretofore commonly constructed, the outer surface of the tops ofthe retorts have been either flat or they have been gradually rounded, presenting a substantially flat surface along a center line, thereby providing space for the descending corrosive material to remain and eat its way through the top of the retort.

I shall now describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawingsand shall thereafter point out my invention in claims,

Figure 1 is a transversesection of one of my improved retorts. vation, partly in central vertical section, of the same, drawn to a smaller scale.

The retort illustrated in the drawings, excepting in the features embodying my pres ent invention, is of a usual form, being one of the forms of retort employed in the Silesian practice of smelting zinc. However, it is to be understood that my invention is applicable to retorts of other shapes and di- Fig. 2 is a side elemensions, for example to retorts of oval or of circular cross-section, such as are employed in the Welsh-Belgian practice. The retort illustrated in the drawings has a thickened and exteriorly flattened bottom 1, providing a maximum of durability and a securebase upon which the retort may be supported in the furnace in the usual manner. The interior of the bottom of the retort is shown as substantially semi-circular.

The retort illustrated has parallel vertical sides 2 of uniform thickness, merging grad ually into the bottom and also likewise merging gradually into the top of the retort, with which the present invention is more particularly concerned.

The top 3 of the retort merges gradually by rounded curves, both exteriorly and in teriorly, into the flat vertical sides 2. The interior of the top of the retort is of substantially semi-circular,contour, like the interior of the bottom. Exteriorly of the re tort the top 5 is shaped to form a substantially inverted V-shaped upwardly projecting ridge. As a direct result of the outer inverted V-shape and the interior gradual rounding, the top 8 of the retort is considerably thicker along the center line than the top 3 sharply sloping laterally in both directions from the angular apex 4.

In the operation of this improved retort,-

it will be vseen that any more or less liquid material falling upon the apex 4, or upon the sloping surfaces laterally of the apex, will be quickly carried off by gravity and will be so quickly removed that the top 3 will not be materially damaged by the corrosive nature of the descending material. The result instead will be merely a scarring of the sides of the retort and not the usual puncturing of the top of the retort. The advantageous rounded interior shape is preserved at the top of the retort, and this rounded interior at the top combines with the outer angular sloping shape to give the increased thickness to the top along the center line, and this thickened portion of the top directly cooperates with the inverted V- shape of the outside of the top in prolonging the life of the top.

My invention prevents the destruction of a good retort by reason of a retort above it failing, and permits the use of all the retorts until they fail in their bottoms or elsewhere from interior causes.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction illustrated in the drawings and above particularly de scribed within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A retort comprising a tubular shell having a top of substantially inverted V- shape at the outside of the retort, the top joining with vertical portions of the wall of the shell at the sides.

2. A retort comprising a tubular shell interiorly rounded at the top and exteriorly of substantially inverted V-shape, the top merging gradually interiorly and exteriorly by rounded curves into vertical portions of the wall of the shell, so as to provide a central thickened portion presenting exteriorly a sharp apex and sloping surfaces and adapted to both quickly shed material dropping upon the retort and effectively resist corrosive action of such material While it is being shed.

3. A retort comprising a tubular shell having substantially vertical fiat parallel side walls and a top presenting a gradually rounded interior and eXteriorly of inverted V-shape, the inner and outer surfaces of the top merging gradually by rounded curves into the inner and outer plane surfaces of the vertical side walls, so that the top has a thickened vertical portion presenting eX- teriorly oppositely sloping surfaces and a sharp upwardly projecting apex, for resisting the action of and quickly shedding corrosive material falling upon the retort.

4. A retort comprising a tubular shell having a top provided with transversely sloping exterior surfaces throughout, such top merging gradually interiorly and exteriorly by rounded curves into vertical portions of the wall of the shell, providing a thickened eXteriorly sloping top adapted to resist the action of and quickly shed corrosive material falling upon it.

In testimony whereof I have attixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HAROLD W. WEBSTER.

WVitnesses:

W'M. AsHLnY KELLY, BERNARD CowEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

